In Fall Semester 2018, the Department of Psychology welcomed Assistant Professor Michael Thomas as the newest Cognitive Neuroscience Psychology faculty member.

Thomas received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside in 2005 and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University in 2011. He then completed an internship and post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Diego before joining their psychiatry department as an assistant research scientist in 2014. That same year, he also received a National Institute of Mental Health Career Development Award. He previously directed the quantitative methods core for the Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Thomas is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist with experience working in outpatient, inpatient, and forensic mental health centers for adults with serious mental illness. His research combines psychometric theory, cognitive modeling, and neuroimaging in the study of neurocognitive disorders such as dementia and schizophrenia. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Clinical Neuropsychology, as well as the APA Division of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. Additionally, he serves as a consulting editor for the APA journals Neuropsychology and Psychological Assessment.

Thomas is particularly interested in the measurement and interpretation of mental health outcomes within the context of intervention research. At Colorado State University, Thomas will focus on the development of new cognitive and neurophysiological assessment paradigms, including electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), with the goal of improving the reliability, replicability, and, ultimately, effectiveness of mental health interventions.